The Arkansaw traveler., 1887-10-15
THE MoRouE KEEPERS STORY
New York Sun.


 the police. Most public morgues are to-day under the care of the police but plenty of them are located away from the stations. I was fo.' four years in charge of morgue at Philadelphia, having been detailed to the place while I held the rank of sergeant. It was in the basement of tailor shop next door to our station house, and we had to go down by way of the alley. It was very plain af- fair-just half dozen stone slabs for the bodies, set at an angle for the water to run of, and small water pipes fixed to spray the bodies and retard decomposition. Above each slab was also gas jet.
 Some people feel a chill at the men, tion of the word, but did not find it such terrible place. I had a room just back of the dead room, and pas- sageway ran along one side, so that the dead room could be reached with out going through mine. For the first few weeks I felt little timid, but that feeling gradually wore away and I seldom gave thought of what was beyond me. My duties were no great burden. Only stranger dead were brought there, you understand. When body was received had to assist to disrobe it and place it on one of the slabs. Then it was in my charge un- til identified, or until the coroner felt that it was hopeless case. A spray of water was kept going night and day, the gas burned near each face and 1 looked into the morgue once in about two hours, or was expected to. Some days there were no visitors; at other times the place was full all day. When there was rush of this sort I had an assistant. Over and over again 1 have seen every slab occupied and more bodies waiting for the hard bed, but it sometimes occurred that we didn't have body for three or four weeks at time.
 The greatest scare ever had oc- curreo one night in midsummer The "bedroom," as the men used to term it, had been empty for fifteen days, when, at about four o'clock one July afternoon, subject" was brought in. He was clearly foreigner-probably a Swede. He had been shot in dance house, the ball entering his breast, and had died in the house. Neither money nor papers were found on him, and, according to rule, he was brought to the morgue to be exposed for identi- fication. It was just chance that any one would recognize him, and the matter was of little interest to me. He was stalwart, tough looking fel- low, and his body had many scars to prove that he was turbulent spirit. l left him on the slab in proper shape, and did not look in on hin. again un- til just at dusk. went to bed early, but awoke at twelve, as was my habit, and looked in again. All the next day passed without single caller at the morgue, and I entered the room to look at the man probably five times. This, as l told you, was partly from habit and partly because of the regu- lations. don't know that the police commissioners had any idea that man who had been shot or stabbed to death would come to life after being laid out on the slabs, but was ex- pected to know it if he did.
 I went to bed at nine and slept un- til midnight. Then I got up and looked into the morgue. One glance showed me that everything was all right, and back I went to my room and bed. expected to drop off to sleep again in two minutes, and was therefore greatly surprised to find myself wide awake at ten, and to real ize that was bit nervous. It was new feeling for me. had slept like a brick with six bodies on the slabs. Yes, was certainly nervous. I had the door of my room locked and a lamp burning, and loaded revolver hung at my head. There was nothing to be afraid of, and I had been tried often enough to know that l was no coward. I tumbled around on the bed, shut my eyes tight, turned over, counted up to five hundred, and yet the harder tried to go to sleep the more nervous I got. All of & sudden there came a sound which brought me upon end in second. Some one had tried the door of my room.
 On several occasions the men up- stairs had tried to play of practical jokes on me, and after a moments re- fection I concluded that one of them had crept down in hopes to find my door open and play some trick. Quite 8 little effort was made to open the door, and then heard some one pass along the hallway and go out of the open alley door. ought to have been able to sleep then, but such was not the case, and in my desperation I got up and lighted my pipe and turned up the lamp. I smoked for a quarter of an hour, and then, feeling calmer, and from mere force of habit, opened the door to look into the dead room If